A World In Monochrome
by IzumiTheMoogle
Summary: What's your name?" Reeve asked. "Squall Leonhart sir. I'm from Balamb." -Final Fantasy Crossover- Rated 'T' for violence. Warning: some couples!
1. Chapter I Midnight Introductions

Chapter One

_Chapter One _

"_Midnight Introductions" _

_The night was bleak. Although the full moon shone brightly in the sky, there was a certain ominous feeling to the darkness that blanketed the small town Kalm. A young girl of twenty-three sat in a dark navy blue chair, cradling a baby that looked no older than two years old. _

_The young woman turned her head to the large window to her left; she stared at the moon with a sigh and shook her head; he was late. _

_The child she had been cradling looked up at her mother curiously. Though she was still young, she probably wondered why the soothing rock of her mom's arms had ceased, "… Momma?" _

_"Hm?" The young mother turned her attention back to her wondering child. She smiled when the baby stared her in the face with maroon eyes, "Sorry about that Lucrecia, honey…" She cooed, getting right back to her rocking. _

_Lucrecia seemed perfectly content as her eyes started drooping closed. A satisfied sigh escaped her lips as she drifted off to sleep. _

_The young woman slowly stood up, careful not to wake up her daughter, and walked over to a crib in the corner of another bedroom. She gently laid Lucrecia down on the soft 'bed' and pulled a blanket over her. After one last goodnight kiss, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She sighed in an aggravated way as she walked over to the window she had been previously staring at. _

_Click. _

_The sound of a door opening made the young woman turn abruptly. Her brown eyes filled with impatience, she walked into the entryway in a half-jog. She stopped about three feet in front of the door, where a young jet black haired man stood, eyeing her curiously. _

_"A-hem…" The young woman said, crossing her arms. _

_"Sorry I'm late," The man replied simply in a low voice _

_The young woman did some sort of combo eye-rolling-groan-sigh after he had said this. However, she immediately smiled and leapt onto him in a hug. _

_"You're such a pain sometimes Vincent," She said as she returned both of her feet to the floor, "I never know if you're going to come home, or if you're going to get eaten by some creature." _

_Vincent smirked, giving an unbelieving 'hmph', "I doubt that Yuffie." _

_Yuffie smiled again, this time with a small laugh. For no reason too; a nonsense laugh. She had never told Vincent this, but whenever she looked him in his deep red eyes, she felt… Happy. And when Yuffie was happy, she laughed. __Usually some jumping up and down was involved too, but she hadn't done that in a while. _

_"So," Yuffie said, walking back into the parlor and taking a place in the chair she had been sitting in previously, "What happened to make you so late?" _

_"Reeve's 'kindness'," Vincent said with an edge of sarcasm. His voice was slightly muffled because he was taking off his long red cloak and hanging it in a closet. _

_"You might have to explain this one," Yuffie chuckled, brushing her shoulder length raven black hair behind her shoulders. _

_Vincent walked into the parlor and sat on a wooden chair beside Yuffie's. Both of the chairs were situated on either side of a round end table that had a lamp and various books stacked neatly on Vincent's side._

_"Reeve insisted on driving me back…" Vincent said tiredly, holding his face in his left hand, placing his left elbow on the end table, "Even though I told him I could walk. Anyway, about a fourth of the way back, the car broke down. Reeve was upset, but I had a feeling something like that would happen. He asked me to help with the car…." Vincent grumbled something under his breath that Yuffie couldn't make out, but she was sure it wasn't positive, "It took a good three hours to get that piece of junk up and running again," He sighed. _

_Yuffie laughed, "That sucks." _

_"No kidding…" Vincent mumbled. _

_"Come on, you look like you need sleep," Yuffie said, standing up, "and I've already put Lucrecia to bed." _

_Vincent nodded, also standing up, "… Thanks." _

_Mata… (Meanwhile….)_

_"Mr. Tuesti sir…" A WRO Soldier addressed Reeve respectfully, "There is someone here who wishes to see you." _

_"A visitor?" Reeve inquired. He wondered what someone could want at this hour, "… Very well. Send them in." _

_The Soldier bowed and left Reeve's office momentarily. Soon, the door creaked open once more and someone else walked in. Reeve looked slightly confused. He didn't recognize this person… At all. _

_The young man strode up to Reeve's desk, "Reeve Tuesti…?" He asked in a mature voice. _

_"Yes?" Reeve answered. _

_"I believe I need your help." _

_"… First of all… May I ask your name? And where you're from?" _

_"Squall Leonhart," The young man answered formally, "I'm from Balamb." _

_"Balamb??" Reeve raised his eyebrows, "That's… Quite a ways away. What you need of me must be important... What seems to be the problem Mr. Leonhart?" _

_Squall's brow furrowed, "Deepground." _


	2. Chapter II Gears In Motion

Chapter Two

_Chapter Two _

"_Gears In Motion"_

_"Deepground??" Reeve sputtered, "Where?" _

_"In Balamb," Squall said. His expression continued to stay sour, "They appeared about a month ago. That's when we heard stories from travelers who came from this area. The situation was getting… Out of hand, so I was sent to request help. Since you have had this trouble before, I assume you know how to get rid of them." _

_Reeve paused momentarily, "… That depends." _

_Squall gave him a doubting look, "What do you mean?" His dull blue eyes were serious._

_"Are there just minions? Or… Are there Tsviets…?" _

_"… Tsviets?" Squall raised an eyebrow. _

_Reeve nodded, "They're members of Deepground, but they're much stronger than the lackeys. MUCH stronger. They're capable of emptying entire cities." _

_Squall put a gloved hand up to his chin in thought, "… I'm not sure that we've had a… Tsviet problem quite yet. But we've got 'minions' coming out of our ears." _

_"I see…" Reeve said, thinking. But how?? That was the question he would love to have answered. Deepground's leader Weiss and his 'master' Omega were destroyed years back. The one who would know the most about Deepground's whereabouts now would be the one who destroyed them completely... Or so they thought. Reeve knew then, "I'm going to have to introduce you to someone; a friend of mine." _

_"…" Squall waited for more explanation. _

_"His name is Vincent Valentine…" Reeve explained further, "And he's the one who crippled Deepground by destroying their leader." _

_"Really…" Squall seemed interested. _

_"Can you wait until morning Mr. Leonhart?" _

_Squall nodded, "Yes." _

_"Good."_

_Asa… (Morning…)_

_"Are you alright Vincent…?" Yuffie asked in the morning. Vincent had just finished making breakfast for the small family. Lucrecia was still playing in the baby formula Yuffie was feeding her._

_"Hm?" Vincent turned his head towards Yuffie, while taking her plate over to wash it, "Yes… I'm fine," He said. _

_Yuffie looked a tad unbelieving, "You've been spacing out all morning." _

_"Sorry about that," Vincent said apologetically. Yuffie actually did hit the nail right on top of the head on that one, but Vincent didn't want to make her worry about him. It was way too easy to do that, "I am fine though." _

_"If you say so," Yuffie sighed. She cleaned off the baby formula that Lucrecia had around her mouth and stood up out of her chair. She lifted her daughter out of her high chair and held her closely. _

_Vincent, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, heard Yuffie talk in an overly-cute voice to their child, who sounded like she was nodding off. Yuffie's light footsteps could soon be heard going into their bedroom and putting Lucrecia in her crib. _

_Vincent had finished the dishes when he felt a vibration in his pocket. He curiously pulled out his cell phone from his pants' left pocket and looked at the caller ID. _

_"Reeve…" He thought, almost annoyed, "I wonder what he wants now…" Vincent put the flip phone to his ear, "What's up Reeve?" He asked. _

_"Good morning Vincent," Reeve answered formally, "Sorry about calling you so early, but I wanted to wait until morning before I talked to you." _

_Vincent glanced at the clock that rested on the wall above the kitchen sink. 10:09 A.M. It wasn't that early, but he didn't want to point that out right as Reeve was talking. _

_"… What's the matter?" Vincent asked, wanting him to get right down to the point. _

_"It's hard to explain over the phone…" Reeve said in an unsure tone, "I'm sorry for asking this so suddenly, but could you meet me at the East Church?" _

_"The East Church?" This was unusual. It must be important if Reeve wanted Vincent to meet him so fast._

_"Yes." _

_"… Right. I'll be there soon," Vincent closed the line and slid his phone back into his pocket. He turned to see Yuffie leaning against the kitchen counter. _

_"Reeve again?" She asked. _

_"Reeve again," Vincent answered. He brushed past Yuffie and walked to the closet. _

_She groaned, "How long this time?" _

_"I'm not sure," Vincent admitted as he reached for his red cloak, "Hm?" Vincent raised an eyebrow as Yuffie walked towards the door, "… What are you doing?" _

_"I'm coming too," Yuffie said it in a way that told Vincent that there was no point in arguing with her. _

_"What about Lucrecia?" He asked her. _

_"She'll be fine," Yuffie promised, "You know how long she sleeps after eating." _

_Vincent did a simultaneous shrug and head nod as he put on his cloak and opened the door of the house. Yuffie followed him loyally as they started walking uptown to the East Church. It was at the very edge of town in a dark cull du sac. Hard to miss in other words. _

_"Jeez, it's windy today!!" Yuffie shivered, clutching onto Vincent and trying to wiggle underneath his coat. People started giving her strange glances. _

_"You should have brought a coat…" Vincent said softly, putting his right arm around Yuffie's shoulder. _

_"Nu-uh!" Yuffie argued, "I have a very nice coat right here," She snuggled into Vincent's arm. _

_He chuckled, "I'm glad I can be of use…" _

_It didn't take them much longer to get to the East Church, and, much to Yuffie's dismay; she had to detach herself from Vincent. _

_"Who's THAT?" Yuffie said as they approached the church steps where Reeve stood with another young man they didn't recognize. He looked quite different, "Wow, look at that scar across his nose…" Yuffie said again. Luckily for them, they could only hear each other. _

_Vincent didn't respond to Yuffie's question and comment. Rather, he calmly walked up to Reeve and the young man and faced them both. _

_"Ah, Vincent," Reeve nodded with a light smile, "Good of you to come. And it's good to see you too again Yuffie," He motioned towards Yuffie, who was waiting behind Vincent. She smiled happily and waved. _

_"Hi Reeve!" She greeted. _

_Reeve smiled at Yuffie and then averted his attention back to Vincent, "Vincent…" He started, "This is Squall Leonhart. He came from Balamb with urgent news… Squall, this is Vincent Valentine and his wife Yuffie." _

_"… Vincent…" Squall nodded, extending his hand out. _

_Vincent was careful to use his right hand to shake Squall's hand; he figured that things might get to a bumpy start if he shoved a claw in Squall's hand._

_"Mr. Leonhart," Vincent responded. _

_"Just call me Squall," Squall said while taking his hand out of Vincent's grasp. _

_"Squall, then…" Vincent said. _

_Squall found Vincent's… Stature most interesting. He had strange looking people back at Balamb, but this was different. There was something about this man… He turned to Yuffie and gave her a respectful bow, "Mrs. Valentine." _

_"Oh, don't be so formal," Yuffie said in a semi-nervous tone, "Yuffie's just fine."_

_"It turns out;" Reeve started talking again, "That Balamb has been overrun by Deepground." _

_Even Vincent was surprised at hearing this, "… Deepground?" _

_"Are you SERIOUS?" Yuffie's mouth fell open, "That's impossible! Vincent got rid of those guys years ago!" _

_"I know," Reeve said, "Or at least that's what we thought. Vincent, could you tell me if you saw anything when you defeated Omega? Something… Out of the ordinary that might hint he wasn't really dead." _

_"No," Vincent replied, without much thought._

_"Hmm…" _

_"Reeve."_

_"Hm?" _

_"Have you ever considered that Deepground might be trying to bring Omega back?" _

_"Bring it back?" Squall asked. _

_"Yeah. They did it the first time by sacrificing civilians. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to sacrifice a new group of people." _

_"They sacrificed people??" Squall emphasized the word 'sacrificed'. _

_Vincent responded with a nod._

_"Have there been fatalities in Balamb?" Reeve asked Squall. _

_"No… Not that I know of," Squall said. He was already worried about the problem before, but now he knew that they were planning to kill people to bring about their leader… Now the situation got much more severe, "Balamb is home to a Mercenary School; Balamb Garden. I doubt that we'd be taken down that easily. However… I suppose there always is a chance." _

_"So, you need to get back right away then," Reeve thought out loud. _

_"That would be ideal," Squall responded, "But you still haven't told me how to defeat them." _

_"You need to find the heart of their operations," Vincent said, "If you can shut down the more powerful adversaries, the rest should be much easier." _

_Squall nodded in understanding, "Alright." So there was a way. Good._

_"Squall, do you happen to know where the heart of Deepground's operations is?" Reeve inquired. _

_Squall's face turned gloomy again, "No," He admitted with a heavy sigh, "and I don't suppose it would be easy to find that out…?" _

_"Probably not," Vincent said, "Unless you knew where they were taking the civilians they capture." _

_"But you said you didn't know about the townspeople being captured," Yuffie piped up, "So, wouldn't that mean you don't know where they'd take the people?" _

_Squall was silent for a moment, "No… I don't know where they'd take civilians… They hadn't taken anyone when I was there." _

_"Then we'd better solve the problem before it gets to that point," Reeve said seriously. He turned his attention to Vincent, "Vincent, do you think you could go back to Balamb with Squall and help him fix the problem?" _

_Vincent's answer was detained for a few moments while he thought. He would have to be away once again, from his family. But… It was a worth-while cause he supposed. _

_"If the infestation of Deepground in Balamb isn't stopped," He started, everyone's eyes on him, "It could very well come back here…Right?" For this answer he looked up to Reeve. _

_"There is always a possibility," Reeve said, sounding the slightest bit unsure. _

_"Then I guess I have no choice in the matter," Vincent finished. He turned now to Squall, "I'll go with you back to Balamb… Squall." _

_Squall nodded again, "Right; thank you. I appreciate it." _

_"When do we need to leave?" _

_"As soon as you can be ready, Vincent." _

_"Alright… Will you be staying with Reeve until then?" _

_"Yes." _

_"I'll be up to the WRO Headquarters when I'm ready." _

_"Sounds good." _

_After the remains of the plan were taken care of, the group parted and Vincent and Yuffie started walking home. Yuffie had been quiet during the decision-making of Vincent going all the way to Balamb, which was unusual. Vincent noted that and put a hand on her shoulder. _

_"Something's bothering you," He said. _

_"Maybe," She replied, putting one of her hands on Vincent's. _

_"Is it because I'm going away?" _

_Yuffie looked up at him with worry, "You have to go somewhere far away AGAIN?" _

_"I really don't have a strong urge to go…" Vincent said, "But it's for a good cause Yuffie." _

_"I know," Yuffie sighed, "You're Mr. Hero," She smiled at him. _

_"Uh-huh. Definitely," Vincent said, the sarcasm in his voice as obvious as a moogle's pom-pom. _

_"Watch Lucrecia for me," Vincent said softly as he kissed his young daughter on the forehead._

_"Can do," Yuffie said. She held Lucrecia firmly in her arms as the young child looked up at her father with wide curious eyes. _

_Vincent had gathered all he thought he might need for his 'journey' and now stood in the doorway of their house. Yuffie looked at him for a moment with a blank expression._

_"Something on my face?" He asked with a slight chuckle._

_"Nope," Yuffie shook her head, "But there will be a giant red mark on your face if you come back here injured, you got me??"_

_"Yes."_

_"Good." She kissed him once before saying goodbye, "Go out and save the world for me!" _

_Vincent nodded with a smile. As he walked down the staircase that led to the streets of Kalm, he gave one last wave to Yuffie and Lucrecia; his family. _

_"I'll be back." _


End file.
